One of the most difficult things to do is starting something new. One can overthink it, and talk themselves out of it. Starting a new sport, new class, new way of thinking, self improvements, eating healthy, starting to workout… whatever it might be, gaining motivation is difficult, especially when one doubts how far they’ll go, how much they can do, and how they will do it. Sometimes those doubters aren’t outsiders, but the person attempting to make the change. One might doubt the progress that will be made, and that stops them from starting. One of the most difficult things for me to do was to start taking care of my body – physically and mentally.

When starting a new healthy lifestyle, it’s important to focus on yourself and how you want to improve, while ignoring what others say or the doubts that might creep in. Susie Miller’s quote, “No matter how slow you go, you’re lapping everyone on the couch,” exemplifies in starting a healthy life.

In sixth grade, I was the little chubby kid who ate my feelings and didn’t really care what others had to say about me. It all changed one day when someone told me, “Dang Kaywin, you need to lay-off the Twinkies.” It could have been a destructive comment, but I used it for motivation instead. I wanted to prove the person wrong. I started being very conscious about what I put into my body. I started running (more like walking), I started eating healthy (when I thought about it), I started doing push-ups, squats and sit-ups. I did anything I could do to lose weight. It wasn’t easy, there were days when I wanted to give up and thought that it just wasn’t worth it, but then I remembered the sole reason why I started.

I lost thirty pounds in middle school and became self conscious about me looking like a little stick, so I started lifting weights and lifting has helped immensely with every part of my life. I gained twenty-five pounds of muscle, I found an outlet for a stressful day, I found an amazing gym with immense opportunities, and I lost my self-image problem. I won’t lie and say that I have become addicted to working out, and many say I work too hard, but the thought of someone working harder than me doesn’t sit too well.

I’m usually at Crossfit at 5am at least four times a week, powerlifting practice after school, then I go home and run off the stress of the day. I’m currently in the best shape of my life. I ran a half marathon in December, my maxes are going up on all of my lifts, strict pull-ups are as easy as push-ups, my nutrition is on point, and I’m loving life and everything it has to offer.

Getting up and getting active is the most difficult part about the whole journey. It all starts with a motivation, a plan, and a means to succeed. If anyone is wanting to start a new journey of health, here are some important things to consider and to think about that are critical to become successful.

Why are you starting? Why now? Who’s motivating you? What are your plans to become successful? Motivation is crucial. Try finding a workout buddy, to hold eachother accountable throughout y’all’s journey.

What should you eat? Eating healthy is crucial in becoming healthy. Eating a balanced meal is extremely important! You need to eat vegetables, fruits, proteins, dairy, and whole grains at every meal. Going to workout, and then coming home and eating pizza and drinking soda will completely ruin your workout. Nutrition will test to see if you are truly committed to becoming the best you.

What workouts will you start doing? Are you going to start walking/running, are you going start implementing weights into your workout? Make sure to have proper form when lifting. Are you going to start doing bodyweight exercises?

After asking yourself these questions, here are some good movements to start doing that can be easily integrated into your day:
50 push-ups a day
50 sit-ups a day
50 air squats a day

The key of starting is to be consistent. So don’t just throw yourself into a workout routine and expect to keep going at it. Go at it like an incline; start small and then start implementing other things into your routine.

That is how I started transforming my life. I then proceeded to add more reps and change modifications.

There are three keys to success that are critical in becoming more fit: Work hard, work smart, and work consistently. All three of these must be together to see the best results. Starting is the difficult part. So once you start, don’t give up. If you give up, you’ll have to re-start. Believe in yourself and trust the process. Results don’t happen overnight, it takes time to see progress, but if you’re working hard and watching your nutrition – it will come. Be prepared for others to notice your hard work.